Aleppo was home to a major Jewish population from the time of the Babylonian exile (600 BCE). They experienced golden ages under the Byzantines and Ottomans, and remained there until the horrendous pogroms of 1947. Their Aleppo Codex is the oldest surviving document of the Old Testament other than the Dead Sea Scrolls, and resides at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Much of the Aleppan community has resettled in New Jersey. Aleppan Jewish cuisine contains elements similar to those found in the other Sepharic cultures, with strong Middle Eastern and Levantine flavors.

I tend to favor cookbooks that have a particularly strong individual point of view, and Aromas has that in spades. Dweck's book reminds me of those wonderful church, mosque or synagogue cookbooks that every immigrant congregation seems to put together after the first generation is well established, to ensure that their kids can carry on the traditions. Only this one somehow got printed in a gorgeous coffee-table sized hardback with world class photography and an outstanding historical introduction. If you like to cook with Middle Eastern flavors, it deserves a proud place on your shelf.

This particular soup is awfully easy to do. Basically you just boil red lentils until they puree themselves, add a seasoning sautee and a quick garnish. I prefer to make it a little bit thinner than Dweck's version, so that it serves as a relatively light first course, but it also works in a larger and thicker portion as the main dish of a simple meal.

Ingredient notes

Red lentils are available at any natural food or health food store; do not substitute brown/green/black/french lentils. Aleppo pepper is a red pepper that is specific to Syrian food, and is quite hard to find in the US stores, but it is available on Amazon. Instead of the cumin and Aleppo pepper, another great garnish alternative is dukkah, a spice blend from Egypt.

Rinse the lentils, pick them over for stones or other miscellaneous material, and bring them to a boil with 2 quarts of water. Lower to a simmer. Stir occasionally to make sure they aren't sticking in a large lump on the bottom, otherwise they may scorch. Simmer for about 40 minutes, until they have dissolved into a puree.

While the lentils are cooking, grind the garlic, coriander seed and salt in a mortar and pestle or a small food processor into a coarse paste. Fry this paste in the olive oil for about 1 minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add to the soup and let simmer a bit longer.

Taste and adjust first for texture first (by adding water). I like it moderately thin, but thick is good too. Then add salt as needed to make it flavorful.

Serve in individual cups garnished with a sprig of cilantro and a pinch of the cumin and pepper, and a lemon wedge on the side.

Lentils and coriander seeds? Hmm, interesting, and it sounds yummy:) I have to give this a try. And it seems so easy to make. I wonder how it would be if I mixed and matched with my recipe of red lentil soup. Maybe I’ll skip the mint and use bulgur and see how the outcome is. I’ll let you know. Thank you for a great recipe Michael:)

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Wow, what a thrill to see someone else blogging Syrian food! Shurbat addes is so delicious, especially when you squeeze both lemon and orange wedges over the top. Also, Diana, a delicious protein-rich cousin of shurbat addes is kolkeh, which is bulked up with a little bulgur wheat: link to iheartkale.blogspot.com

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I just stopped by your site to get this recipe out for the second time! I made it for the family a few weeks back and everyone loved it. I’ve been passing it on to friends ever since, and now I’m back for a second round myself. Really simple to make, and a tasty break from “regular” lentil soup. The fresh cilantro and lemon at the end really make the dish! Thanks.

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Hi
i love to experiment with food……being a strict vegetarian does drw a lot of curious questions……….the soup u have posted is very close to Indian version of dal or simple “pappu”……we are all the same with our food after all!

great going!

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I made this last night and, while I loved the simplicity and the spices, I found 1 tablespoon of salt to be a heck of a lot for my taste–maybe I didn’t add as much water as the recipe called for, not sure. I added more lemon and some yoghurt and it was still good.

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Daughter Amazed at Dad’s Kitchen Skill.I tried this and it’s great! I love lentil soup and used to make it with tomatoes, carrots and onions, nasturtium leaves, etc., to give it flavor. My daughter tasted one of my richest creations and said, “Where’s the flavor?” Then I tried this soup. The lentils smelled good as they boiled, but when I added the spices, I suddenly had the intense flavor and hearty aroma I love. And my daughter was amazed that her old Dad could make something so delicious–and with so very few ingredients.

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Oh, and thank you Michael for this recipe. Like the dad above I usually just cook lentils with the normal veggies, but I will definitely be making this one as soon as i can get a hold of some coriander seeds.

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I remember those days when my mom was in the kitchen on a cool autumn or window day making a delicious dish made up of brown and red lentils and I think there was wheat in it, and lots of cumin…. (onions and garlic)??

I never learned how to cook this and unfortunately this receipe is buried with mom … does anyone from Haleb (Aleppo) Syria know how to make this receipe. She used to have dried pita bread and I think cook sliced onion to put on top of this food………they make a soupish soup at the soup plantation that reminds me of my mom’s meal. forevermine007 us at yahoo dot com

hemdela el saleme

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Well, I’ll try answering that, as a Jew living in Israel where we get bombed frequently by our not-so-nice Arab residents and neighbors. We’ve always been a distinct people, with dietary laws from the Torah that have been kept alive until today. For that reason, our food, no matter where we’ve lived over the past 2K years, has reflected the tastes of the local population, but with twists and blends not found in non-Jewish cooking. For example, a soup like this might make use of meat or chicken (by both Jews and non-Jews) but we could not use butter as the oil, or top with a dairy product as non-Jews would very likely do.

But more than that, this recipe and others by the author, are relics of a place and time: Jewish living in Syria “back in the olden days.” Today, the Jews have been effectively made refugees from most Muslim countries since the establishment of Israel. There simply aren’t many left in Syria and other middle eastern countries. Just a few months ago the remaining Jewish community in Yemen was sent to Israel under threat of death by the surrounding community after living there continuously for more than 2K years. So, there food and tradtions have not yet undergone such modernizing as many other immigrant Jewish communities in say the US, Israel, etc. So, yes, what difference does it make if it’s a JEwish recipe or a Christian (or I’ll add Muslim)? It sure makes a difference to us Jews, and it’s historically made, and currently make a difference to non-Jews. Thanks for your inquiry. I hope I did it justice.

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Hey I’m not sure if you have a lot of healthy recipes of your own that you make, but if you do, you should send them into this contest I know of. I noticed your blog online and I think I have something you will be interested in. You could get great exposure for your recipes and meet celebrity cooks (Bobby Flay, Sunny Anderson, Sara Moulton, or Cat Cora). All you have to do is go to link to healthyfoodfight.com to submit one of your healthy recipes. It kicks off on September 4th at the Rockaway Mall in New Jersey. Thank you for your time and good luck with the competition if you decide to enter!

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Awesome, another dish to help me with my love of garlic! I think I will try the garlic paste with some green beans. It reminded me so much of the garlic they put on the green beans at the White House Grill in Post Falls 🙂

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At first I was kind of disappointed with the soup because it hadn’t turned out as flavorful as I had hoped. But when I tasted it, having left it sit for about 15-20 minutes, the flavor was amazing! So subtle and yet so flavorful. I sprinkled it with cumin, chopped corriander and a squeeze of lemon and it was wonderful. I also added about 1/2 tsp more of kosher salt to the whole pot. What a great, easy soup. And the aroma of the garlic and corriander seeds as I pounded them with the mortar and pestle was so fragrant! (BTW I only used 1 TBS of olive oil to fry the paste).

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I made this yesterday and it was fantastic. I usually do stock, potatoes, carrots, celery, etc in with the lentils and was surprised how much flavor it had with just the spices. The entire family (7 year old, 5 year old, and 20 month old kids) all loved it. Just so you know, our Central Market grocery store carries Aleppo pepper in bulk. I would love more recipes to use this fantastic pepper.

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Just made this and love it. I’ve never made red lentil soup and I’m not always great in the kitchen, but this was super easy and so delicious. I made a small addition and let the lentils simmer with a few bay leaves. I only had the cumin and lemon as a garnish, but boy, did they help! So savory. I was a little suspicious about adding lemon to this dish, but I’m glad I trusted the pro and the culture, it was a glorious combination.

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